Review: The Missing Bean Colombia Asopep (Oxford, England)

I’ve reviewed coffee from The Missing Bean before, back in 2016 (their Unbirthday Blend landed in my top 10 list for the year), and on a recent trip back to England, I was really happy to have a chance to meet up with a friend and visit the roastery itself. It’s not a fancy place – the space has burlap sacks everywhere and half of the room is taken up with the giant roasting machine – but the staff couldn’t have been nicer, and we were able to enjoy some lovely drinks seated on stools by the store’s plate-glass window. There were plenty of fresh coffee offerings available to take home but I opted for this Colombian since it was the freshest of all.

Whole bean: Lively and warm, smells of spice cake.

French press: There is a hint of orange and spice to this cup (nutmeg, clove, cinnamon) – it was like pumpkin pie without the pumpkin.

Chemex: Clean and sweet cup that tasted of orange and honey. Juicy and a bit tart on the very finish – makes your mouth water!

AeroPress: This was a thick, spicy, and fudgy cup. It had a bit of heat on the end, like cayenne pepper. Delicious straight out of the brewer without any additional water added.

V60: Powdery texture to this, and the coffee was less sweet than the other methods. Smooth flavors of cocoa and orange with a hint of nut.

Summary: The Chemex version of this coffee was my personal favorite of the four, but really, all four methods produced delicious coffee and I think it would be quite difficult to make a bad cup of coffee with these beans. Highly recommended!

From the roaster: Well balanced, with notes of candied orange, spiced rum and clove

The Missing Bean doesn’t sell their coffee online, but they have a cafe and roastery location in Oxford that you can visit to buy their beans.